Trash or Treasure?

T

thisflatearth

Joined
Feb 11, 2010
Messages
70
Just found this rusty little gem in my father in laws garage, going to clean it up, was just wondering if it was something unique or a mass produced junker. Looks like a "Colonial" but the rust over the name stamps is pretty hearty.

IMG_1673.JPG


it says "FOREST MASTER" on the name plate. Not thinking about selling, just wondering how much clean up work its worth. Not one for collecting, but if I make it nice and gift it....
 
What does the tang stamp read,on the blade ?
-Vince
 
I wouldn't call it a junker. More like a cool snapshot in time. I would clean it up, oil and keep it. Those wormgroove handles are pretty neat.
 
comoha said:
I wouldn't call it a junker. More like a cool snapshot in time. I would clean it up, oil and keep it. Those wormgroove handles are pretty neat.
Click to expand...

And the blades are what as known as "full",meaning un sharpened
It should clean up real nice,just oil the heck out of it & keep wiping off the surface rust with a soft cloth & do not "buff" it & make it shiny.That takes all the original state away from it.Old knife guys cringe w/ they see that
-Vince
 
Just some light surface rust, get those off and try to leave as much patina and such as possible. Slightly sharp blade and it will make excellent carry knife.
 
Forest Master was a Colonial Knife. They are nice scout patterns. Clean it oil it and use it.
 
Why is it do you suppose, that knife collectors see it that way? If you buy a vintage car and it's dirty and rusted, don't you do whatever you can to restore it to it's former glory. You don't drive it down the street and call it patina. With a few exceptions, most all vintage collectables allow for the cleaning and polishing that will make it sparkle and shine like when it was young. No alterations mind you, but cleaning and polishing is generally accepted. I personally love to see those old knives sparkle.
 
whitebuffalo2 said:
Why is it do you suppose, that knife collectors see it that way? If you buy a vintage car and it's dirty and rusted, don't you do whatever you can to restore it to it's former glory. You don't drive it down the street and call it patina. With a few exceptions, most all vintage collectables allow for the cleaning and polishing that will make it sparkle and shine like when it was young. No alterations mind you, but cleaning and polishing is generally accepted. I personally love to see those old knives sparkle.
Click to expand...

Different strokes. Knife collectors prefer to have it as close to the condition as "the original maker" produced it. Car collectors don't, if they did we would see a lot of cars with patina. Also fakers and forgers in the knife world use "cleaning" to obscure their alterations. I do not know how prevalent this is in the car world.
 
I somewhat agree with whitebuffalo on this, but it is my personal feelings only. I don't try to restore them to like new condition, but I do like to clean them up. Sometimes on knives that are pretty badly pitted, I'll use chemical rust remover and hand buff with steel wool to clean them. If they are just stained and have patina, I don't try to get that off of the blade, it just adds to the character of the knife.

Now, regarding patina, I don't go in for this "forced" patina either. My carbon steel knives will develop their unique patina over time with normal use. I will clean and oil my knives with every use, or as soon after as I get the opportunity.

It's just the way I do things and I'm not trying to influence anyone else. Do it your way and enjoy your knives; that's what it is all about.

That camper is in pretty good shape. It looks closer to a treasure than trash to me. Just a bit of cleaning to get the red rust off, it should be set to provide good duty in the tradition of it's design.

Ed
 
Last edited:
TLARbb said:
Now, regarding patina, I don't go in for this "forced" patina either. My carbon steel knives will develop their unique patina over time with normal use. I will clean and oil my knives with every use, or as soon after as I get the opportunity.
Ed
Click to expand...

I'm pretty much the same, Ed. :thumbup:
 
That's pretty much what I'm saying. But, I've known collectors who were against the idea of even cleaning out the imbedded guk and pocket lint from between the liners. That crap is disgusting! It could be anything from oil and grease to boogers! I clean all of my old knives with nothing less than soap, water and an old toothbrush, then judge from there what is legitimate as far as further cleaning and polishing.
 
Treasure for sure! Doesn't look like it should take too long to clean up and it will not only be a nice knife to carry but one with some family ties.
 
whitebuffalo2 said:
Why is it do you suppose, that knife collectors see it that way? If you buy a vintage car and it's dirty and rusted, don't you do whatever you can to restore it to it's former glory. You don't drive it down the street and call it patina. With a few exceptions, most all vintage collectables allow for the cleaning and polishing that will make it sparkle and shine like when it was young. No alterations mind you, but cleaning and polishing is generally accepted. I personally love to see those old knives sparkle.
Click to expand...

I can't understand the whole patina thing either. I know it's well loved by many here but none of my knives have one and that's by choice. I'm guessing people who like patinas grew up with dads and grandfathers who had knives like these, so to them it's how a knife should look. My dad and grandfather weren't knife guys...somehow I picked up an interest in knives on my own and shiny was what I grew up with.
 
I guess I should clarify something. I love the natural patina that HC (blue) steel takes on over the years on a "well kept knife". And the fact is, over cleaning the bolsters and handles on one like that just doesn't look right. I start taking a second look when a knife retains say 75% of it's original luster or shine but has splotchy areas. For me, why not clean and polish it? On this Forest Master? (which is a very cool find by the way) I pretty much agree, other than the few rust spots, I wouldn't clean it up much beyond that. It'll look perfect after that. You don't here many people refer to 'em anymore, but a good old fashioned SOS pad works great and if you don't scrub the daylights out of it, it won't remove the natural blueing on the blades. The soap in SOS pads has a rust remover in it.
 
VCM3 said:
And the blades are what as known as "full",meaning un sharpened
It should clean up real nice,just oil the heck out of it & keep wiping off the surface rust with a soft cloth & do not "buff" it & make it shiny.That takes all the original state away from it.Old knife guys cringe w/ they see that
-Vince
Click to expand...

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Yes, just wipe it off, oil it, and carry. That's all i would do with it. Heck, I'd carry it proudly, and use it. Give it a good sharpening, and put it to edc duty.

Carl.
 
I wouldn't call it a junker. Just because it had belonged to your grandfather I would call it a treasure it. Just clean it up, and treasure it.
 
Man I wish my grandfathers Colonial was as nice as that.
I have found 4 knives in my grandfather's house. Since we bought it. All of them where really beat up. Two are Colonials, one Camillus and an ebony slabbed Cattaraugus TL-29.
I still treasure them and so should you.
Neal
 
TLARbb said:
I somewhat agree with whitebuffalo on this, but it is my personal feelings only. I don't try to restore them to like new condition, but I do like to clean them up. Sometimes on knives that are pretty badly pitted, I'll use chemical rust remover and hand buff with steel wool to clean them. If they are just stained and have patina, I don't try to get that off of the blade, it just adds to the character of the knife.

Now, regarding patina, I don't go in for this "forced" patina either. My carbon steel knives will develop their unique patina over time with normal use. I will clean and oil my knives with every use, or as soon after as I get the opportunity.

It's just the way I do things and I'm not trying to influence anyone else. Do it your way and enjoy your knives; that's what it is all about.

That camper is in pretty good shape. It looks closer to a treasure than trash to me. Just a bit of cleaning to get the red rust off, it should be set to provide good duty in the tradition of it's design.

Ed
Click to expand...

Well said.
I have a forest master in the top of my toolbox. Yours is in great shape.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top